House Speaker John Boehner has announced he will not go to conference with the Senate "Gang of Eight" bill.
Boehner on immigration: "We have no intention of ever going to conference on the Senate bill."
— Elise Foley (@elisefoley) November 13, 2013
The Gang of Eight legislation,1300 pages long and passed in July by the Senate, has been falling apart since the day it was introduced. Even Florida Republican Marco Rubio, who was a strong advocate for the bill initially, eventually turned against it and encouraged opposition to conference.
This leaves the Gang of Eight bill pretty much dead, but doesn't rule out informal negotiations over a different piece of legislation. According to reports, President Obama and Democrats like New York Senator Chuck Schumer made it impossible to negotiate on the legislation, paving the way for them to use immigration against Republicans in the 2014 election cycle.
Although conference on this particular bill isn't going to happen, Boehner says he is still looking for an eventual deal on immigration reform. A majority of House members support a piecemeal approach with border security first and a path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants later.
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